I havent caught a good bass in about a month and it dosent help that the guys i fish with are doing really well right now..I mean good for them but even when i throw the same baits as them i dont get anything..Im thinking about taking like a week or two off from fishing just to clear my head..what do you guys do in a slump and thanks for letting me vent haha

1. Ask some guys experienced with the body of water you are fishing. I have found that as i was starting to get confidence and then stopped being sucessful, THE BASS HAD MOVED. The various stages of the spawn etc, can cause you hot spots to become dead spots

2. Look around and see if a lot of others are trhowing the same few baits, and switch up.

3. Learn to use wind and weather, which I am just starting to try and understand

Do what baseball players do when they're in a slump! Cork your bat and take some steroids!

Hey muddy can you share what you have found out on the wind and weather? All i hear is about wind blowing baitfish to certain areas?

All I can share so far, is when the wind is blowing at Mauch Chunk from Ramp A to Ramp B ( I dont even know if that is N,S,E or W) the bass are tight up against the rocks and topwaters work , even on a somewhat choppy top. If the wind is going the other way, they are in the deeper weeds, Why I do not have a Clue, but this is what i have found on this one body of water.

Weather: In the spring the warmer and shallower parts of the lake was were I headed first, I am now going to try the first dropoff area before that b/c thats where some of the bigger fish maybe.

T STORMS; Right before them the Bass go nuts and bite everything but the boat

During and after the rain: This is particularly true on Natural lakes; Shorelines with ripple tail worms I beleive the fish cue in on worms and bugs getting wahsed in. This works especially well if the runoff stream is around some type of weeds. It has occuired to me to try a Jitterbug this year for the same reasons

The wind pushes plankton downwind, then the bait follows, then the bass follow.  Try reaction lures

Also consider temperature, the windy water will be cooler and the bass may be in a temp phase of spawning and perfer warm protected water.

Good luck

ps-taking time off doesn't sound like the best idea

Tell yourself to relax and slow down your presentation.Sometimes when I'm seeing people around me catching fish and I'm not it makes me rush.When I slow downa nd ignore them I usually manage to put one in the boat.

The wind pushes plankton downwind, then the bait follows, then the bass follow. Try reaction lures

Also consider temperature, the windy water will be cooler and the bass may be in a temp phase of spawning and perfer warm protected water.

Good luck

ps-taking time off doesn't sound like the best idea

When I found areas like this I throw a spinnerbait,especially, if it has some good cover around, i.e. stumps, grass. I wouldn't take time off just try something different than what you are probably used to.

This is one time of year I would not want to be missing any fishing trips...it can be feast or famine, but those big pre-spawn females will eat sooner or later. It may be later in Maryland than here in NC, but the big bass here are already in their pre-spawn areas. You can use the bass's natural instinct to spawn as your guide. Also pay attention to where your buddies are fishing..are they getting bit on staging areas next to spawning coves and banks? If so I would suggest concentrating on the main lake points and cover closest to those areas. Lastly a jerkbait or crank, spinnerbait...something that triggers a reaction bite can really pay off...once you find the right area just fish it HARD!  ...Good luck!

Do what baseball players do when they're in a slump! Cork your bat and take some steroids!

Thats not what baseball players do to break a slump, at least not when I played. I don't know if the use of a "slump buster" is nessacary in fishing, but it's worth a shot.   j/k

Tell yourself to relax and slow down your presentation.Sometimes when I'm seeing people around me catching fish and I'm not it makes me rush.When I slow downa nd ignore them I usually manage to put one in the boat.

Thats exactly what I was going to say.   If you're throwing the same baits as your buddies but you're not getting bit, you might be getting too anxious and messing up your lure presentation.  Take a deep breath and slow down, the bites will come.

If you just want to catch some fish, this is all you really need when the weather warms up a bit:

Buy two bags of 5" Senkos (watermelon w/ black flakes) and one bag of Fat Ika, same color.

Cast parallel to the bank, out 5-15 yards from the shore. Let the bait settle and sit for at least thirty seconds, then move it 6-12" with a slow, horizontal sweep. After moving the bait, allow it to settle on slack line and sit. Repeat until you feel you are out of the zone.

If there are any bass where you are fishing, I GUARANTEE you will catch a few fish.

Here is another thread with some other ways to address the issue:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1180501296/10

8-)

Clear that head of yours and through your confidence baits. Being a successful fisherman or having success on an outing, is heavily reliant on being focussed and confidence in your baits and presentations. Forget about everyone else and what they are doing or success they are having. If you ask questions of guys that are finding success, ask depth they are fishing, color of water, line size. You'll figure it out, just got to throw out all of the negative thoughts floating around in there and replace them positives!